The doors opened at 6p.m. and shortly thereafter the pub was packed and remained that way most of the night. It was a familiar sight that I remember from days long past when the site housed Morris’s Grill and many of the same former patrons came out to show their approval and enjoy the opening of a new establishment in this landmark location.

Patrons filed in and out the doors throughout the night expressing their support and approval of the new establishment to the employees and their fellow patrons alike. And everyone behaved in an orderly fashion during this grand opening.

A few of the patrons expressed their feeling that the music was a little too loud and they had to yell for their friends to hear them, but all in all it appears that a wonderful time was had by all those who attended.

Upon speaking to Dennis Coleman after last call he expressed his feeling that “it was a great success” and so it appears that the LakeHouse Pub will continue a long tradition of establishments that were housed in this location which somehow continues to attract 100s of patrons to attend.

At one point during the evening, a patron and local resident turned and asked me how this place can draw the people it does when a similar establishment across the street had hardly any patrons, my response was, it’s the location and just has always been the place where people gathered to socialize, just as they did when it was Morris’s Grill, McClaren’s before that, and Henessey’s before that.

I also believe it has a great deal to do with the fact that people have been waiting for so long now for something to open up in this location which once housed the legendary Morris’s Grill for so many years and was the place where they all gathered to socialize.

I, for one, am very happy to see it finally have life in it again and I think I can speak for everyone when I say many thanks to Joe Goethe, Mike Wamp, and Dennis Coleman for making this dream a reality for all the residents of Skaneateles.

The following article was featured today as breaking news on the Skaneateles Press website, www.skaneatelespress.com and was copied here for added exposure for the public’s benefit:

Skaneateles — The LakeHouse Pub, at the site of the former Moriss’s Grill in Skaneateles, will open for business at 6 p.m. today, Friday, Aug. 24.

The owners are calling this a “soft opening,” with the official grand opening scheduled for early September.

“We got the liquor license this morning and that’s all we need to get started,” said owner Dennis Coleman. “We’re excited to be able to open before summer ends. People have been waiting a long time for this.”

The three men announced in June the new business venture located at 6 W. Genesee St.

The LakeHouse Pub will have the look and feel of Coleman’s, designed to fit a lakeside village pub setting. The focal point will be the large, dark oak bar.

The menu will include carved sandwiches, soups and salads. The pub will continue to feature entertainment on Wednesdays and Sundays, in the tradition of Morris’ Grill and they have plans to add a trivia night, pitch league and a dart league, “to encourage local residents to become fixtures at the newest, oldest pub in town.”

In conclusion, the former employees of Morris’s Grill would like to extend a tremendous welcome to the LakeHouse Pub and wish them great success and a long and prosperous life in the former location of Morris’s Grill, the most historic watering hole Skaneateles has ever known. We also encourage them to carry on the time honored traditions of the past in welcoming all residents of Skaneateles to come out and share their memories of the past in this landmark location, that has seen all classes of people pass through its doors over the many years, to socialize and share their common interests.

For those interested, you can access the LakeHouse Pub website by visiting, lakehousepub.com.

The World’s Famous Morris’s Grill was a vital part of the local community in Skaneateles, NY which has sat idle for too long. Although Morris’s Grill will long be remembered as a Historical Landmark institution and local gathering place for all classes of people who passed through it’s doors, it will be wonderful to finally see life again in the location it occupied not so long ago. And we will never forget Darryl “Burt” Lipe who gave so much to the local community in different ways throughout his many years as proprietor of this fine establishment.

The following article is featured on the newly created LakeHouse Pub website, www.lakehousepub.com, which explains their vision for this new addition to the local business community of Skaneateles, NY. We welcome them with open arms to our friendly community and wish them great success. You can also visit them on Facebook at: LakeHouse Pub

Dennis Coleman, General Manager of Coleman’s Authentic Irish Pub, announced Thursday, June 14, 2012, at a meeting of the Skaneateles Chamber of Commerce, that Coleman’s will be operating a pub/restaurant at the site of the beloved Morris’s Grill on Route 20 in the village of Skaneateles. Dennis Coleman and two Skaneateles partners, Joseph J. Goethe and Michael J. Wamp, will own the establishment that will be known as the LakeHouse Pub.

In seeking a new bar/pub for the historic site, Seitz Building Associates, LLC, issued a Request for Proposals to interested establishments in May. According to Ted Kinder, speaking for Seitz Building Associates,

Kinder added that Coleman’s is respected in the industry and is known near and far for their well-established, well-run pub in Syracuse.

The LakeHouse Pub will have the look and feel of Coleman’s, designed to fit a lakeside village pub setting. The focal point will be the large, dark oak bar. According to Dennis Coleman, “I’m a third generation publican, so I understand the importance of the history of an establishment and I know how to run a successful pub. Joe Goethe has lived in Skaneateles nearly his whole life and Mike Wamp and his family have lived here for nine years. They are committed to this community and understand first hand the significant role Morris’ played in Skaneateles. We are all honored to help preserve its tradition. We are here for the long haul.”

The partners hope to open the LakeHouse Pub as quickly as possible; if all goes well, before the end of the summer. The menu will include carved sandwiches, soups, and salads. According to Coleman, the pub will continue to feature entertainment on Wednesdays and Sundays, in the tradition of Morris’ Grill and they have plans to add a trivia night, pitch league and a dart league, “to encourage local residents to become fixtures at the newest, oldest pub in town.”

We all have Christmas celebrations we will never forget.

Yes it’s true that we all have fond memories of past Christmas celebrations, but none are so memorable as those that we all shared together at World Famous Morris’s Grill for the three decades that it existed.

I was reminded of these joyous occasions earlier this week when Mary Jayne Lipe posted the following photo of a time honored tradition on her Facebook account with the caption that follows.

Many, many thanks to the Skaneateles Village worker elves who perpetuate the legend by returning the colored Christmas lights on the pole in front of what was Morris’s Grill in the all white light Village. Burt would be soooo pleased. Merry, Merry Christmas!

It’s such a pleasure to see the village perpetuating this time honored tradition that was carried on for so many years by Burt Lipe, the proprietor of the World Famous Morris’s Grill. Both the historical establishment and Burt are now gone but will never be forgotten and they will live on in our memories for many years to come.

Thank you Burt for making all of these wonderful memories possible and for providing us with the greatest watering hole the village of Skaneateles has ever known. A historical landmark where we all gathered together for so many years to share common interests, where everyone was equal regardless of social class.

We will never forget you Burt, or the wonderful memories we shared in the establishment you so proudly called your joint. May you rest in peace eternally with our Heavenly Father above and watch over us until the day that we may all be together again to share our endless memories of the World Famous Morris’s Grill.

In memory of a great friend, father, husband, proprietor, etc., a man who did so much for so many and asked for very little in return. Take care and God Bless.

Wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas and a Joyous New Year’s celebration! Hope you get to spend time with your loved ones during this joyous season. And don’t forget to give thanks to those that made it all possible, the Lord Jesus Christ and Our Heavenly Father. May we all live long, fruitful, and prosperous lives, in Jesus’ name AMEN.

Reading the recent article in the Skaneateles Journal about the foreclosure proceedings of the Seitz Building really brought back some great memories of that wonderful watering hole that not so long ago was World Famous Morris’s Grill.

Remember the good ole days when you could go to Morris’s Grill after work to have a few cocktails and blow of steam? Where everyone was friends with everyone else no matter what background they came from. And Gracie was there keeping everyone’s glass filled and making sure they all behaved.

Well, it wasn’t really all that long ago, but unfortunately some outsiders thought they had a better idea for the space, which turned out to be just a dream. Now the building still sits idle after almost two years and the outsiders are gone back to where they came from, their dream shattered along with one of the most wonderful watering holes Skaneateles has ever known.

So what do we do now that Cafe Morris, more well known as World Famous Morris’s Grill has been closed for almost two years? I know what I think should be done and I think a lot of people feel the same way I do. Let’s find someone in the local community to buy the building and bring back our favorite community gathering place, World Famous Morris’s Grill.

There has to be somebody in this community that has the money or collateral to invest in bringing back a place that was a time honored tradition, and a rite of passage for those coming of age. A place that saw generation after generation pass through it’s doors. Where people gathered after their favorite sporting event, a beautiful wedding ceremony, or just a hard days work.

I know I can’t be alone in expressing these sentiments, so let’s get together on this project and find someone who is interested in helping bring back this time honored place of tradition known as World Famous Morris’s Grill or as Burt Lipe used to say to me when leaving for the day “Take care of my joint”.

I really can’t remember many people who were as generous as Burt was in this community with his donations to the Fire Department, the Food Pantry, S.A.V.E.S, and just about every other organization that came asking for donations. Wouldn’t it be great to honor a man who did so much for this community by bringing back his favorite gathering place in his memory?

Are you with me people? We can do this if we all come together as a community with this goal in mind. Please leave your comments and suggestions for a solution to bringing back World Famous Morris’s Grill.

In case anyone is wondering why I chose the Harley Davidson Theme for the Blog it’s mainly because a large number of Morris’s patrons over the years were bikers and they helped keep the cafe going through thick and thin in support of a joint they called home.

Many of them were also close personal friends of Burt’s and will remember him for many years to come and continue to tell their stories involving Burt and his joint. Most every one of them would stop in and have a cold one after work and shoot the bull with Burt and/or Gracie and reminesce of old times and funny incidents involving the bar.

It’s still very sad to think that Burt is gone and along with him went the most wonderful watering hole that the Village of Skaneateles has ever known.

The powers that be, so to speak, finally got their way and eliminated the one establishment that so many cherished as a community gathering place for people of all backgrounds to meet and celebrate there friendships together.

Although Burt and Morris’s are gone, they will never be forgotten by the many patrons that frequented Burt’s joint or the community organizations like: the Make-A-Wish Foundation, SAVES, the Skaneateles Fire Department, the Food Pantry of Central NY, and many more organizations that became accustomed to the generosity that Burt conveyed upon them.

In closing, I would just like to say that I think the closing of Morris’s Grill was a huge mistake not only because it eliminated the one place that everyone gathered together but also because I’m sure it did create a big gap in the local economy and affected all businesses in the area as a whole.

Used to be that when I walked downtown at night there was always something going on in town, whether it was at Morris’s, the Bluewater Grill, the Sherwood, or wherever. Now when I walk downtown it’s like a ghost town with nobody around and I know this has had a big effect on the local economy.

What the powers that be didn’t realize is that all of the local establishment’s patrons frequented all of these establishments and spent their hard earned money, not just at Morris’s, and sadly many of those same patrons told me personally that if Morris’s closed they wouldn’t come to Skaneateles and spend their money anymore.

It appears to me that they meant what they said, how sad for all of us.

All I can say is that I hope they have learned something from this sad event and it’s really too bad that Skaneateles had to suffer because of this closing of an establishment that meant so much to so many and was even regarded as an institution that will be remembered for many years to come.

It was indeed a very sad day when they shut the doors of Morris’s Grill!

I hope everyone will enjoy the Blog and use it often to communicate with there friends, family, and aquaintences who were partrons of Morris’s Grill over the many years the establishment remained open.

Don’t forget to click on the Last Call Photos link and watch the slideshow of photos from the Last Call Celebration Week. It was a gathering that many of us will remember for many years to come.

Note: It will take me a few days to add all of the photos so please be patient and check back often for updates.

Hopefully these photos will help us to remember alot of the good times we shared together at Burt’s Cafe or Joint as he called it.

In loving Memory of a man who gave his all to Skaneateles in many different ways, and whom will be remembered for many years down the road by family, friends, and Morris’s patrons alike!